Frederick George McBrien (15 June 1888 – 2 July 1938) was an

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

lawyer and political figure. He represented Toronto Southwest and then Brockton from 1923 to 1934 and Parkdale from 1937 to 1938 in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

member. He died in office at the age of 50. He was born in on 15 June 1888 in the Mono Township,

Dufferin County, Ontario Dufferin County is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, Ontario, Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer i ...

and educated in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

. He was a newspaper boy for the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

in his youth. When he was 17, he opened a hardware store with his younger brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, supplying builders in Toronto's growing outlying areas. He began studying law at Osgoode Hall 1914, while still running his hardware business, and graduated in 1922. McBrien was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1934. He first ran for city council in 1908, and after three tries, was elected on 1 January 1911 as the

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for Ward 6 of the former City of Toronto, in the west-end. At the time, Toronto had yearly city council elections on New Year's Day. He decided to run for mayor in 1914; at the time, he was the youngest person to run for that office at age 25. He was defeated by incumbent mayor

Horatio Clarence Hocken Horatio Clarence Hocken (October 12, 1857 – February 18, 1937) was a Canadian politician, Mayor of Toronto, social reformer, a founder of what became the ''Toronto Star'' and Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of British America from ...

by just over 1000 votes. In June 1938, he had a heart attack, and was hospitalized at

Toronto Western Hospital The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known for ...

. He died on 2 July 1938 at the hospital. An odd thing happened regarding his funeral. His brother William McBrien was the chair of the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

at the time, and was involved in a minor car accident on his way to make the funeral arrangements for Fred. Since he died in office, his funeral was attended by the province's premier

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...

and Toronto mayor

Ralph Day Ralph Carrette Day (November 24, 1898 – May 21, 1976) was mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1938 to 1940. He was also an accomplished funeral director, owning his own funeral home. He also served as chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in ...

. His daughter Muriel was one of the founding co-owners of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

baseball team along with her husband

Ewing Kauffman Ewing Marion Kauffman (September 21, 1916 August 1, 1993) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner. Early life and education Ewing Kauffman was born on September 21, 1916, on a farm near Gard ...

References

External links

''History of Dufferin County'', S Sawden (1952)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcbrien, Frederick George 1888 births 1938 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Toronto city councillors